- The Knicks are still trying to trade Courtney Lee, sources tell Lowe. While it’s not clear if they’ve made progress in any trade talks, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer notes that Lee has generated interest, adding that the Hornets discussed a trade for the veteran swingman at last season’s deadline.
- It’s a moot point now, but if LeBron James had committed to staying with the Cavaliers this summer, Cleveland would have sent the No. 8 pick in the draft to the Hornets as part of a trade package for Kemba Walker, according to Lowe.
[SOURCE LINK]
The 2018/19 NBA regular season will get underway tomorrow, which means it’s time to get serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from Bovada and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, to have you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
Having already looked at the Atlantic, Central, Southwest, and Pacific divisions, we’re moving onto the Southeast today…
Washington Wizards
- 2017/18 record: 43-39
- Over/under for 2018/19: 45.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Wizards poll)
Miami Heat
- 2017/18 record: 44-38
- Over/under for 2018/19: 43.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Duncan Robinson, Yante Maten
- Lost: Luke Babbitt, Jordan Mickey
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Heat poll)
Charlotte Hornets
- 2017/18 record: 36-46
- Over/under for 2018/19: 35.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Hornets poll)
Orlando Magic
- 2017/18 record: 25-57
- Over/under for 2018/19: 30.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Magic poll)
Atlanta Hawks
- 2017/18 record: 24-58
- Over/under for 2018/19: 23.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Hawks poll)
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (59.5 wins): Over (53.63%)
- Toronto Raptors (55.5 wins): Over (56.95%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (54.5 wins): Under (51.19%)
- Brooklyn Nets (31.5 wins): Under (56.04%)
- New York Knicks (28.5 wins): Under (54.13%)
- Houston Rockets (56.5 wins): Over (69.33%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (45.5 wins): Under (53.4%)
- San Antonio Spurs (44.5 wins): Under (60%)
- Dallas Mavericks (34.5 wins): Over (55.16%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (34.5 wins): Under (60.87%)
- Indiana Pacers (47.5 wins): Over (62.04%)
- Milwaukee Bucks (47.5 wins): Over (73.7%)
- Detroit Pistons (38.5 wins): Over (56.36%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (30.5 wins): Over (55.42%)
- Chicago Bulls (29.5 wins): Over (61.8%)
- Golden State Warriors (62.5 wins): Over (53.45%)
- Los Angeles Lakers (48.5 wins): Over (55.2%)
- Los Angeles Clippers (36.5 wins): Under (55.7%)
- Phoenix Suns (29.5 wins): Under (53.4%)
- Sacramento Kings (25.5 wins): Under (63.87%)
The Hornets set up their regular season roster today by completing a pair of transactions. According to a press release from the team, Charlotte has waived Zach Smith and converted Joe Chealey‘s Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal.
It’s good news for Chealey, who will stick with the Hornets after going undrafted out of the College of Charleston. The 6’4″ guard averaged 18.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.6 APG as a senior and led the program to the NCAA Tournament. Now, he’ll be one of Charlotte’s two-way players, alongside J.P. Macura.
As for Smith, the rookie forward is a candidate to play for the Greensboro Swarm, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers on Monday.
The Hornets are now carrying 16 players, including 14 on standard contracts. If they don’t make any additional moves by Monday, they’ll enter the regular season with an open spot on their roster.
The Hornets have dropped a pair of players from their preseason roster, announcing today in a press release that guard Jaylen Barford and forward Isaiah Wilkins have been waived.
Barford, a 6’3″ guard out of Arkansas, went undrafted earlier this year. In his final college season, he averaged 17.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.5 APG with a .470/.431/.721 shooting line for the Razorbacks, earning First Team All-SEC honors.
Wilkins, meanwhile, had modest averages of 6.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.6 APG during his senior year at Virginia. However, the 6’8″ forward filled up the stat sheet with 1.4 BPG and 1.2 SPG, and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Wilkins is the stepson of NBA legend Dominique Wilkins.
Wilkins appeared briefly in one preseason game for Charlotte, while Barford didn’t play for the team in the preseason. Both youngsters are good candidates to join the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ G League club, as affiliate players.
After today’s cuts, the Hornets have 17 players under contract, but at least one more roster move will be required before the season begins, since Charlotte has 16 players on standard deals and just one on a two-way contract. The Hornets could convert Joe Chealey or Zach Smith to a two-way deal to get to the regular season roster limit, if they so choose.
- As the Hornets look to bounce back from another disappointing season, Cody Zeller will be a key piece to the puzzle. As Rick Bonnell points out for The Charlotte Observer, the Hornets have struggled mightily without Zeller, posting a 35-59 record in the games he has missed over the past four years. Zeller provides stellar two-way play and experience at the center position, which is exactly what the Hornets will need this season.
- Marks also notes that several players will have a chance to become eligible for super-max contracts with their current clubs if they make All-NBA teams this season. That list includes Anthony Davis (Pelicans), Draymond Green (Warriors), Klay Thompson (Warriors), Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers), and Kemba Walker (Hornets). Additionally, Devin Booker‘s new extension with the Suns would start at 27.5% of the cap if he’s named to the All-NBA Third Team, 28.5% if he’s named to the Second Team, and 30% for First Team.
[SOURCE LINK]
Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is in the NBA’s concussion protocol and will not play in the team’s preseason game on Tuesday, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports. This is at least the second time in his career that Kidd-Gilchrist has suffered a concussion. He endured one during his rookie season in 2013. When Kidd-Gilchrist returns, his role will change, Bonnell notes. New coach James Borrego will play him primarily at power forward and he’ll likely be on the second unit.
So far this offseason, two players have signed rookie scale extensions: Devin Booker got a new deal from the Suns, and the Timberwolves locked up Karl-Anthony Towns to a new long-term pact.
In each of those instances, the player received a maximum salary extension. Max deals, which require little negotiation, typically get done well before the mid-October deadline for rookie scale extensions. But with that deadline now just two weeks away, we may start seeing progress on a few other deals around the NBA.
Besides Booker and Towns, 21 players are eligible for rookie scale extensions this offseason, though some of the players on that list assuredly won’t get new deals. The Cavaliers aren’t about to give Sam Dekker a long-term contract, for example. And it’s safe to assume that the Bulls aren’t looking to lock up Cameron Payne early.
Still, there are several names on that list who are intriguing candidates for new deals. Here are 12 of them:
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Nets)
- Stanley Johnson (Pistons)
- Frank Kaminsky (Hornets)
- Trey Lyles (Nuggets)
- Larry Nance Jr. (Cavaliers)
- Kelly Oubre (Wizards)
- Bobby Portis (Bulls)
- Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks)
- Terry Rozier (Celtics)
- Myles Turner (Pacers)
- Justise Winslow (Heat)
- Delon Wright (Raptors)
Not all the players on this list will sign rookie scale extensions within the next two weeks. In fact, most of them probably won’t. There are plenty of reasons for teams to wait — maybe the asking prices are too high, maybe their financial situations aren’t conducive to more long-term investments at this point, or maybe they simply want another season to take a closer look at their extension candidates.
[RELATED: Recent NBA Rookie Scale Extension History]
Still, it’s safe to assume that at least a couple players on this list will receive new deals. Typically, at least four players per year sign rookie scale extensions, and the numbers in previous seasons have often been much higher than that — in 2014, 2015, and 2016, a combined 24 players signed rookie scale extensions, for an average of eight per year.
With that October 15 deadline fast approaching, we want to know what you think. Which of this year’s extension candidates will receive new deals? Which deserve them, and at what price point? Which should be put off until they reach restricted free agency next summer?
Head to the comment section below to share your two cents on this year’s rookie scale extension candidates!
Howard, 32, signed with the Wizards in the offseason after he was acquired by the Nets and subsequently bought out. The eight-time All-Star is with his fifth team in seven seasons as he looks to build on a solid season with the Hornets in 2017/18. Playing in over 80 games for the first time since the 2009/10 campaign, Howard averaged 16.6 PPG and 12.5 RPG for Charlotte.
- Tony Parker admitted that it’s weird to don a uniform that isn’t the Spurs’ black and white for the first time in his 17-year NBA career. As Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer writes, Parker will need time to adjust to the Hornets, but this is the role he wanted. “This is a guy who’s a six-time all-star, a four-time NBA champion, been in NBA for 17 years and he’s in a new environment,” head coach James Borrego said. “New head coach. New teammates. New locker room. New city. And now coming off the bench — all that is new for him. … But Tony has bought into this role.”
- Hornets rookie Devonte’ Graham was acquired by Charlotte from the Hawks after Atlanta selected him in the second round. As he looks to make an impact for the Hornets, he believes that Charlotte is the right place to do that, Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer writes.
- The Hornets are one of several NBA teams that haven’t filled either their 15-man regular season roster or their two two-way contract slots. That’s by design, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, who tweets that GM Mitch Kupchak is keeping an eye out for possible roster casualties around the league who could fit with the Hornets.
- The Hornets announced a series of additions to their basketball operations staff this week, including adding veteran NBA forward Matt Carroll as a player development assistant. Carroll, who spent most of his playing career in Charlotte, last appeared in an NBA game in 2012.